Need help recognising knotweed?

As the weather warms up, Japanese knotweed begins its unwelcome regrowth. But can you tell it from bamboo, lilac or dogwood? Our ID sheet is here to help.

Japanese knotweed has a number of identifying features that make it stand out from the shrubbery, no matter what the time of year.

As it starts to regrow in the spring (up to 2cms a day), look out for bamboo-like, reddish stems and leaves. The leaves turn green as the plant establishes itself - you can then compare it to our identification sheet. Look carefully at the leaf shape, pattern of leaves along a stem and colour of main stem.

If you have identified some Japanese knotweed the first thing you need to remember is, even though there are clear rules on how you must deal with it, it is not illegal to have it on your land.